Best Practice

by Carsen Taite

  Perry’s words lingered with her all day, and the more she tried them on for size, the more she liked the way they fit. Perry had started working with Hadley to put together the foundation, and Grace had watched carefully, on the lookout for any signs Perry was bored with the work or unsettled about remaining in Austin. On the contrary, she seemed to be in her element, full of ideas of how Hadley could partner with other foundations across the country and even globally to have a wider reach.

  Later in the day, Grace and Abby led Campbell to the dressing room and helped her get ready. “Who’s with Wynne?” Grace asked. “Does she need anything?”

  Campbell shot her a look. “Don’t you dare abandon me. Her best friend, Seth, is the best man, and Roxanne’s checking on her.”

  “I checked on her too,” Perry said as she strode into the room, looking stunning in her midnight blue tux, tailored perfectly to her body. “She’s fine.”

  “There’s a lot of fine going around,” Abby said. “Check out this tux.”

  Campbell feigned shock. “That’s my little sister you’re talking about.”

  “And my girlfriend,” Grace said, taking Perry’s arm. “But you don’t hear me complaining about Abby’s assessment.” She ran her hands down Perry’s lapels. “So much fine.”

  “Hey, over here,” Campbell called out, waving her hands. “Get your own wedding. You’re supposed to be doting on me on my special day.”

  Abby and Grace let out a collective groan at the words “special day” and then they all burst into laughter, except Perry. “What’s so funny?” she asked.

  “You had to be there,” Abby said.

  “All right then.” Perry checked her phone. “I’m going to do one last lap around the pavilion. Last time I checked, Braxton Meadows was eating all the donuts. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  Grace followed her to the door, Campbell’s joking words, “get your own wedding,” playing on a loop in her head. She adjusted Perry’s tie and leaned in to give her a kiss before whispering, “I heard you before.” At Perry’s puzzled look, she added. “In the car. When you said, ‘someday this will be us.’”

  Perry smiled. “You are the marrying kind, aren’t you?”

  “When the right woman comes along, I’m asking.” Grace said.

  “And how will you know she’s the right woman?”

  Grace reached for Perry’s hand and held it to her heart. “She’ll be smart, and kind, and funny, romantic, and sexy. And I suspect she’ll look a lot like you.”

  “I suspect she’ll say yes the minute you ask.”

  “I can’t wait to find out.”

  THE END

  About the Author

  Carsen Taite is a recovering lawyer who prefers writing fiction to practicing law because she has more control of the outcome. She believes that lawyers make great lovers, which is why she includes so many of them in her novels. She is the award-winning author of over twenty-five novels of romance and romantic intrigue, including the Luca Bennett Bounty Hunter series, the Lone Star Law series, and the Legal Affairs romances.

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